Beyond Thoughts

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How long can you rest as 'I Am'?
Perhaps you'd like to take a moment to try it now...simply resting as that
sense of I-Am-ness. Go ahead...I'll wait...........

Well? How did you do? Judgments perhaps? There are always two things
happening: 1. Is the actual thing happening, and 2. Is the story about
what's happening. The problem is that we normally focus on the story about
what is happening. This even includes our thoughts. So, for instance, in
the exercise above, you may have had thoughts, and then you proceeded to
have numerous thoughts ABOUT those thoughts. So, like anything, there are
two things happening...in this case, the first is that there are thoughts
that are happening, and then we proceed to feed those thoughts by having
thoughts ABOUT the thoughts.
These initial thoughts are generally harmless. They simply arise, like the
sun. But because we impart supreme importance to our thoughts, we then
judge them, or believe them, or chase after them, or rationalize them, or
... You get the picture. So, when those intial thoughts arise, simply
recognize their arising from and as the space of Presence.
This is always the case....something happens...every moment, things
happening. But then, we have a story about it. Why? Generally what happens
creates no suffering. However, our story about what is happening generally
has the potential to create great suffering. The sun came up. "Oh my GOD!
Why did the sun come up this morning?" When you have a belief or an
expectation about what happens moment by moment, there tends to be
suffering. When there is no expectation, simply allowance, surrender,
openness, embracing...no suffering.
A thought arises...no expectation...no suffering. Just remain as the ever
present Now-ness.

"There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our
mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one's mind and one's
subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else."
Maitri Upanishad

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